CENTENE CORPORATION vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, two Managed Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Thirty-two turns of multiple stand where Centene's should be: UnitedHealth trades at 32.2 times earnings mid-recovery while Centene, running a negative 3.3% net margin through the Medicaid rate-reset trough, has no earnings to price at all. The pair is government-adjacent insurance at two altitudes: UnitedHealth's 8.1% operating margin spans insurance, clinics, and pharmacy benefits at $389B; Centene's 3.7% operating margin serves state programs where pricing arrives by legislation. UnitedHealth pays a 2% dividend from earnings that survived its own annus horribilis; Centene's 21.8% free-cash figure is float ahead of claims. Both carry ~0.75 turns of debt. The market pays a premium for the diversified recovery and nothing for the concentrated one; that asymmetry is the page.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | CNC | UNH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $65.73 | $427.44 |
| Market cap | $32.6B | $389.0B |
| Sector | Managed Care | Managed Care |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | — | 32.2 |
| P/B | 1.51 | 3.74 |
| P/S | 0.16 | 0.86 |
| EV/EBITDA | — | 18.9 |
| Revenue growth | +17.4% | +9.8% |
| Gross margin | 11.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 3.7% | 8.1% |
| Net margin | -3.3% | 2.7% |
| Return on equity | -30.0% | 11.6% |
| Return on assets | -7.9% | 3.9% |
| Return on invested capital | -14.1% | 8.4% |
| FCF yield | 21.8% | 5.1% |
| Dividend yield | — | 2.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.76 | 0.75 |
| Current ratio | 1.12 | 0.80 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.09 | 3.02 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.